Hyderabad: The Congress is working towards establishing a national platform of MPs from the southern states that would advocate for their rights and entitlements.
Sources in the party confirmed this a day after chief minister A Revanth Reddy said in Kerala that the southern states should join hands to fight against the BJP-led central govt’s alleged attempts at delimitation of Lok Sabha seats based on population.
Sources added that Rahul Gandhi may oversee the functioning of the Congress members of the pressure group, the original suggestion for which had come from AICC general secretary K C Venugopal. Congress is currently in power in Telangana, and Karnataka, and is part of the alliance with DMK in Tamil Nadu. Kerala, on the other hand has a govt of the Left Democratic Alliance led by the CPM and the CPI. Andhra Pradesh is the only state in the south that has an NDA govt.
“One or two MPs from each state will be invited to join this pressure group. The recent budget has shown a disparity, with southern states receiving less funding compared to Bihar, highlighting the discrimination faced by this region. The Congress party has been considering a more vocal stance on this issue, and the idea of a southern pressure group has been developing for some time,” a senior leader said.
The goal of the group is to monitor the funding commitments made, assess what has been delivered by the Centre, and determine the rightful share for each southern state. Reports on the funding status have been requested from the state units by the top leadership.
In Telangana, the committee will concentrate on the unfulfilled promises from the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, matching grants for central schemes, special funds for municipalities, and the demand to cancel delimitation. “All commitments made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be scrutinised,” the leader added. Sources said Chamala Kirana Kumar Reddy and Mallu Ravi from Telangana may be included in the team.